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NowNow Appoints David London, Others to Advisory Board

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African digital banking solution, NowNow Digital Systems Limited announces the appointment of David London, Managing Director, Cybersecurity, The Chertoff Group; Henrietta Bankole-Olusina, VP and Practice Lead, Economic Inclusion, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors; and Olayinka David-West, Associate Dean, Lagos Business School to its Advisory Board.

Conveying his enthusiasm for the new additions to the advisory board, Matthew Francis, Chief Strategy Officer, NowNow Digital Systems Limited, said, “We are honoured and excited to have David London, Henrietta Bankole-Olusina, and Olayinka David-West join our Advisory Board.

“Their addition to an already dedicated community of innovators and industry experts foreshadows an exponential growth and transformation of NowNow whereby we can serve the needs of Africa in better capacities.

“We look forward to their guidance and insights to ensure that the NowNow platform is safe, secure, and protected from external threats through its growth and commitment to transforming the fintech landscape in Africa.”

David London will play an enhanced role on the advisory board backed up by decades of experience in cybersecurity instrumental to security on the NowNow platform. As the Managing Director of Cybersecurity at The Chertoff Group, David London has worked with renowned security expert Michael Chertoff, Executive Chairman, The Chertoff Group, who served as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush.

David has also worked with global corporations to strengthen cyber governance, drive control transparency, and prioritize security investments to effectively mitigate and communicate cyber risk.

Through his role, David London has led high-profile cybersecurity engagements in the financial services, energy, retail, healthcare, and technology sectors. Speaking on the future of NowNow and his optimism about his role on the board, David London stated, “I’m thrilled to join NowNow’s advisory board where I can apply my cybersecurity and financial sector expertise as well as my experience living in Africa.

“NowNow serves a critical role in empowering African businesses and consumers, and I look forward to helping the organization sustain and strengthen its commitment to cybersecurity, trust, and transparency.”

Henrietta Bankole-Olusina is a leader with proven ability to lead cross-functional teams to success with career achievements in digital transformation, innovation, fintech business development, payments, and so on.

Henrietta works in financial services with a focus on financial inclusion policies driving regulatory requirements for Digital Financial Services (DFS) and engaging Financial Service Industry (FSI) regulators to provide advisory with the aim to strengthen regulatory policies in developing markets.

Olayinka David-West is a Professor of Information Systems with over three decades experience in the IT and financial services industry. She is a passionate advocate for digital transformation and inclusive finance.

Her research and practice engagements involve policy and strategic management interventions towards digitally transformed businesses and society. Olayinka leads the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS) initiative, a research and advocacy initiative dedicated to enhancing financial inclusion in Nigeria.

NowNow has built an ecosystem that digitizes payments and creates access to financial services for Agents, Consumers and Businesses. With the addition to its advisory board, the innovative company is focused on solving everyday financial challenges by creating the largest fintech ecosystem in Africa providing dynamic solutions to empower Africans with technology as well as support the financial inclusion goals in the region.


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Aliko Dangote Signs out @ Dangote Sugar Refinery as Chairman

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Aliko Dangote
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In a major leadership transition, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) has announced the retirement of  Aliko Dangote, its founder and chairman, from the Board, effective June 16, 2025.

Aliko Dangote Signs out @ Dangote Sugar Refinery as Chairman

Aliko Dangote

The announcement was made in a regulatory filing with the Nigerian Exchange Ltd on June 11, highlighting the company’s commitment to sound corporate governance and structured succession planning.

In a statement signed by Mrs. Temitope Hassan (FCIS), company secretary and legal adviser, the Board praised Dangote’s extraordinary leadership and lasting contributions to the company.

“Alhaji Aliko Dangote is one of the founding Directors of the Company and has served with exceptional leadership, integrity, and vision since 2005,” the statement read.

“Under his stewardship, Dangote Sugar Refinery transformed significantly, navigated industry changes, consistently delivered value to shareholders, and upheld strong governance principles.”

Widely regarded as Africa’s most influential industrialist, Dangote led DSR’s evolution into a dominant player in Nigeria’s sugar value chain.

His strategic initiatives, particularly the Backward Integration Projects (BIPs) across Adamawa, Taraba, and Nasarawa States, advanced the company’s self-sufficiency goals and aligned with the federal government’s national sugar master plan.

While stepping down from DSR, Dangote will continue as President of Dangote Industries Limited.

His legacy at DSR is marked by industrial innovation, strategic foresight, and sustained operational excellence.

To ensure a seamless transition, the Board has appointed Mr. Arnold Ekpe, a seasoned independent non-executive director, as the new chairman, effective June 16.

Ekpe is renowned for his tenure as Group CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, where he championed pan-African financial inclusion and institutional growth.

His extensive experience in banking and corporate governance is expected to strengthen DSR’s next phase of development.

The leadership change signals continuity of vision, with DSR reaffirming its focus on operational efficiency and long-term value creation in a dynamic market.

For shareholders and industry observers, Dangote’s exit from the Board marks the end of a transformational era—one defined by bold ambition and strategic execution—while opening a new chapter under Ekpe’s leadership.

 

 

 

 


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Report Reveals New Malware Posing as an AI Assistant Steals User Data

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Kaspersky Global Research & Analysis Team researchers have discovered a new malicious campaign which is distributing a Trojan through a fake DeepSeek-R1 Large Language Model (LLM) app for PCs.

The previously unknown malware is delivered via a phishing site pretending to be the official DeepSeek homepage that is promoted via Google Ads.

The goal of the attacks is to install BrowserVenom, a malware that configures web browsers on the victim’s device to channel web traffic through the attackers servers, thus allowing to collect user data – credentials and other sensitive information. Multiple infections have been detected in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, India, Nepal, South Africa and Egypt.

DeepSeek-R1 is one of the most popular LLMs right now, and Kaspersky has previously reported attacks with malware mimicking it to attract victims. DeepSeek can also be run offline on PCs using tools like Ollama or LM Studio, and attackers used this in their campaign.

Users were directed to a phishing site mimicking the address of the original DeepSeek platform via Google Ads, with the link showing up in the ad when a user searched for “deepseek r1”.

Once the user reached the fake DeepSeek site, a check was performed to identify the victim’s operating system. If it was Windows, the user was presented with a button to download the tools for working with the LLM offline. Other operating systems were not targeted at the time of research.

After clicking on the button and passing the CAPTCHA test, a malicious installer file was downloaded and the user was presented with options to download and install Ollama or LM Studio.

If either option was chosen, along with legitimate Ollama or LM Studio installers, malware got installed in the system bypassing Windows Defender’s protection with a special algorithm.

This procedure also required administrator privileges for the user profile on Windows; if the user profile on Windows did not have these privileges, the infection would not take place.

After the malware was installed, it configured all web browsers in the system to forcefully use a proxy controlled by the attackers, enabling them to spy on sensitive browsing data and monitor the victim’s browsing activity.

Because of its enforcing nature and malicious intent, Kaspersky researchers have dubbed this malware BrowserVenom.

“While running large language models offline offers privacy benefits and reduces reliance on cloud services, it can also come with substantial risks if proper precautions aren’t taken.

Cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting the popularity of open-source AI tools by distributing malicious packages and fake installers that can covertly install keyloggers, cryptominers, or infostealers.

These fake tools compromise a user’s sensitive data and pose a threat, particularly when users have downloaded them from unverified sources,” comments Lisandro Ubiedo, Security Researcher with Kaspersky’s Global Research & Analysis Team.


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Court Declares Bank’s Withholding of Retirement Benefits Unlawful

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National Industrial Court in Lagos has ruled that a deposit money bank must pay over N162 million in outstanding retirement benefits to a group of its former employees.

The judgment, delivered by Justice R.H. Gwandu, criticized the bank’s attempt to withhold entitlements from staff employed through third-party arrangements.

The claimants, represented by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, argued that the bank violated labor laws by refusing to honor their retirement benefits. They sought declarations that the bank’s actions were unlawful and requested immediate payment of their dues.

Justice Gwandu ruled in favor of the employees, stating that the use of third-party employment to evade obligations was unacceptable.

The court acknowledged their long service and dismissed the bank’s argument that they did not meet the required 15 years of uninterrupted service.

Notably, the court upheld the rights of the 10th claimant, who continued working with the bank after its merger with Manny Bank and another commercial institution.

This landmark ruling reinforces workers’ rights and establishes that organizations cannot use outsourcing arrangements to deny employees their legitimate benefits.


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